I paid my TV licence online in February, before it expired. I have had two letters from TV Licensing to say I have not paid and then I got a letter threatening to take me to court. At that time, I could not access my emails so could not view my credit card bill. I assumed the payment had not gone through and, through sheer terror, paid again. I now find I have paid twice. I tried to telephone them a couple of times but was cut off before I spoke to anyone. I have emailed and am awaiting a reply to get my money back for the second payment. I don't know what else to do. LE, Greenford, Middlesex

TV Licensing insists it did reply to both your emails, at the two different addresses you wrote from. At least it has now uncovered what went wrong. When you thought you were renewing your licence online in February, you did in fact buy a new one by mistake.

Apparently some addresses require two licences, for example if there is a tenant in the property, so TV Licensing did not query your second purchase.

When your first licence expired a couple of weeks later, obviously you thought it had been renewed, and this is why you started receiving reminders until in April, in a panic, you did renew it. TV Licensing has agreed to refund the second payment without the bother of completing a refund form.

It has also redesigned its website to ensure the "renew" option is more prominent, so in future licence-holders should avoid making this mistake.

You can email Margaret Dibben at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Margaret Dibben, Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU and include a telephone number. Do not enclose SAEs or original documents. The newspaper accepts no legal responsibility for advice.